Make My Trip fined Rs 50k for botched Kerala holiday

For failing to provide promised facility of taxi for sightseeing and AC rooms as part of the holiday package, travel portal Make My Trip has been ordered by the consumer forum here to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to Nirmal Gupta, a resident of Sector 44.

For failing to provide promised facility of taxi for sightseeing and AC rooms as part of the holiday package, travel portal Make My Trip has been ordered by the consumer forum here to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to Nirmal Gupta, a resident of Sector 44.

Gupta had taken a 'four nights-five days' package for his family for a holiday in Kerala in November 2012 for Rs 1.08 lakh, which included an air-conditioned Tata Indigo for intercity transfers and sightseeing, from makemytrip.com.

On reaching Cochin the first day, there was no one present to receive them; after waiting for a long period, Gupta hired a taxi at his own and reached the hotel. The next day, when the family was to go for sightseeing, no taxi came. When calls to the travel portal went unanswered, he booked a long-term taxi for intercity transfers and sightseeing. After spending two days, the family shifted to another destination, Thekkady, and on reaching there they were lodged in non-AC rooms as against the promised AC rooms.

Claiming to have acted "as a facilitator for booking airlines tickets and hotel booking", Make My Trip argued, "Being booking agent, we have discharged their duty by issuing confirmed air tickets and hotelier vouchers to the complainant, and subsequently the complainant utilised the entire booking. If any default or deficiency is made by the said hotel and the said cab vendor, against whom the complainant has the main grouse […] we cannot be held liable because we simply acted as an agent."

But the district consumer disputes redressal forum, presided over by PL Ahuja, ruled in its order dated February 25, "We do not find force in the contentions. When they charged for the package, they were under legal obligation to provide proper services to the complainant. Complainant cannot be made to suffer for their fault. Hence, the deficiency in service is writ large."